have developed a DNA-sequencing method that can read combinations of chemical modifications across both strands of the double helix, revealing a layer of biological information that existing techniques could not see in the same way.
SCoTCH-seq was developed by researchers in Professor Sir Shankar Balasubramanian's Cambridge group. It can distinguish three forms of cytosine, one of the four DNA bases, across both strands simultaneously.
That matters because chemical modifications such as methylation and hydroxymethylation help cells decide which genes to use and when. lead Dr Jack Hardwick believes the patterns could eventually help scientists track how cancers develop and identify potential targets in neurodegenerative disease.
The work is still fundamental science rather than a diagnostic test ready for hospitals. But it gives researchers a richer alphabet for reading how cells organise the same genetic code in different ways.